Daily Tip: How to erase all personal data from your iPhone 4 before upgrading to the iPhone 4S

Interested in selling or giving away your old iPhone to pick up a nice new iPhone 4S but need to know how to make sure you've erased all your personal information from the device first? Luckily Apple makes it easy to securely wipe all your data. We'll show you how after the break.

Although we highly suggest performing a full firmware restore and setting up your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as "new", if you're not near your computer you can still get the job done:

Tap the 'Settings' icon

Tap 'General'

Scroll down to the bottom and tap 'Reset'

Tap 'Erase All Content and Settings'

If you have a passcode setup, you'll have to verify your credentials before being asked one last time that you're positively sure you want to dispose of everything on your iPhone. The process can also take some time depending on how much music, video, apps, etc. you had stored on the iPhone, as Apple is writing over the data multiple times for security's sake.

It's also important to note that if you have a jailbroken iPhone, you'll want to go through the full iTunes restore process due to permissions issues preventing the data from being fully erased from the device.

Once it's done you're good to give away or sell your old iPhone without having to worry about anyone getting into something you may have left behind. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below!

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Andrew Wray is a Salt Lake City, Utah based writer who focuses on news, how-tos, and jailbreak. Andrew also enjoys running, spending time with his daughter, and jamming out on his guitar. He works in a management position for Unisys Technical Services, a subsidiary of Unisys Corporation.